COE premiums up across most categories; Cat A price climbs 3.7% to $128,501

SINGAPORE – The price of a Category A certificate of entitlement (COE) climbed to $128,501 at the Aug 19 tender exercise, hovering near the record $129,000 registered in July.

Meant for smaller, less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs), the Category A premium rose by $4,611, or 3.7 per cent, from $123,890 at the previous tender on Aug 5.

This was the first tender where the Category A COE price climbed after dipping in the last two exercises.

The premium for the Category B COE, used to register larger, more powerful cars and EVs, inched up from $129,910 to $131,001 – an increase of 0.8 per cent.

The motorcycle (Category D) COE premium recorded a 7.6 per cent increase, from $10,503 to $11,301. This was the fourth consecutive exercise where the price of this certificate had breached the five-digit mark, and the sixth time in total that it has happened so far in 2026.

It was also the first time since October 2023 that the motorcycle COE premium crossed the $11,000 threshold.

The price of the Open category COE, otherwise known as Category E, rose 3.1 per cent, from $131,000 to $135,000.

Certificates in this category are transferable and can be used to register any vehicle type except motorcycles. They are mostly used for bigger cars, and motor traders often secure them for the flexibility to register cars without waiting for the next tender exercise.

Meanwhile, the price of a commercial vehicle (Category C) COE fell 1.7 per cent to $90,002, from $91,545.

A COE is needed to own and use a vehicle in Singapore.

Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors, distributor of Hyundai cars, said the Category A COE premium had increased “beyond expectations”.

At the Aug 19 tender exercise, there were 1,600 bids vying for 1,197 COEs, which meant 403 bidders failed to secure certificates.

At the previous exercise, there were 1,522 bids going after 1,226 Category A COEs, with 296 failed bids.

Given the excess demand for Category A certificates, Ng expects prices for this category to continue to climb in the next exercise, which closes on Sept 9 and has a longer window of three weeks for bidding, instead of the usual two weeks.

He also said that demand for Category B certificates will increase significantly in the next tender if this category’s premium is only marginally higher than that of Category A.

The difference between their premiums had narrowed to $2,500 in the latest exercise. The biggest difference between these prices in 2026 so far has been $17,091.

But Ng also suggested that Category B COE prices might surge in the next exercise as potential car buyers may bid directly for these certificates instead, particularly given how Category E prices had reached their highest point in 2026, at $135,000.

Analysing the increase in motorcycle COE premiums, Wang Yinghao, branch manager at motorcycle dealership Yew Heng Motorsports, said prices were going “back to normal”.

Prices had often exceeded the $10,000 threshold back in 2022 and 2023, and in November 2022, hit a record high of $13,189.

Still, the premiums for this category surprised him. He had expected them to go down, as he thought buyers would hold off their purchases until the National Bikers Weekend from Sept 11 to 13, for better deals at the largest motorcycle sales event.

Wang said the “motorcycle craze” might be surging again, and predicted that motorcycle COE prices are likely to continue inching up in the next exercise.

Correction note: The story has been edited to reflect that the three-week bidding period refers to the period between the tender exercises on Aug 19 and Sept 9.